Following the Dobbs v Jackson decision, online medication abortion prescriptions increased, with daily fulfillment numbers rising from March 2022 to March 2023, primarily supported by virtual-only platforms, according to a recent study.
In the study, published in JAMA Network Open, investigators analyzed prescription fulfillment trends for direct-to-patient medication abortion through a single online pharmacy before and after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson decision. This cross-sectional study included data from 87,942 fulfilled prescriptions between June 2021 and June 2023, focusing on patient, prescriber, and state policy characteristics.
The majority of the prescriptions (57.1%) were for patients under the age of 30, with an average age of 28.7 years (standard deviation [SD] = 6.4). The investigators found an increase in fulfilled prescriptions in the year following the Dobbs decision, with sharp increases occurring after the May 2022 leak and the June 2022 ruling. The average number of prescriptions fulfilled per day rose from 88.5 in March 2022 to 201.5 in March 2023. Following both the May 2022 leak and the June 2022 ruling, the daily average fulfillment reached 169.6 (SD = 84.8) prescriptions shortly after the decision.
Most prescriptions originated from virtual-only platforms and were sent to states classified as supportive or highly supportive of abortion access, according to Guttmacher Institute policy classifications. Prescriptions were more frequently fulfilled in states with protective or somewhat protective abortion policies. While increases in fulfillment were observed across all policy environments, virtual-only platforms consistently accounted for many fulfilled prescriptions.
These findings indicated the growing involvement of online pharmacies and telehealth platforms in the provision of medication abortion, particularly after the legal changes associated with the Dobbs decision.
Full disclosures can be found in the published study.